Jump to content

Brilliance Review - the List Cruise - Dec 5 10 - Better Late than Never


dirtgirl
 Share

Recommended Posts

So, this review has been a long time in coming. I just haven’t had the time to sit down and collect my thoughts!! Here goes.

 

I left Vancouver, BC on Dec. 2nd, connecting through London Hearthrow to Barcelona. My first flight was delayed due to weather in London, causing me to switch to a later flight to Barcelona. This was the start of the ‘curse’ that this vacation seemed to have!! ;)

 

 

My connecting flight was late as well, by about 2.5 hours. I heard some grumblings about a strike in Spain. I asked my seatmate what was going on, and he informed me that the air traffic controllers in Spain had staged an illegal strike, shutting down air traffic in Spain. Luckily, Barcelona was still accepting arrivals, but no departures. I was lucky. Others in my travel agent group weren’t so lucky – some got diverted to Nice, some got stuck in Frankfurt, some had to overnight in London. It was like the Amazing Race to get to the ship by Dec. 5th!:eek: Our group all made it, but 60+ people didn't, and they had to catch up in Palermo.

 

 

I stayed at the Hotel Barcelona Catedral, near the Barcelona Cathedral, with my friend Laura (Beachcruzer). I picked it due to location, price, and the gym. OK, the gym was my primary focus, being a total fitness freak.:p Hotels in Europe do not seem to care much about having gyms in them – very annoying, and very time consuming finding one that has what I want in it!

 

The room was largish, for European hotels. The bathroom was large as well, but they have these weird half doors on the tub, so it’s very easy to flood the room if you’re not careful. I packed washcloths, and I was glad I did. I also brought adaptors/converters for the different current, which came in handy. I would recommend this hotel. It was just off a noisy street, so it was quiet itself. No view, but I wasn't hanging around the room looking out the window.

 

 

We went on the Hop On Hop Off Bus on our free day before the cruise, stopping off at the Sagrada Familia, Le Parc Guell, and finally got off at the Columbus monument. There we ran the gauntlet up Las Ramblas, and finally managed to find our hotel in the maze of streets that is in the Gothic Quarter!

 

I loved Barcelona for its architecture and its life, but OMG the cigarette smoke was killing me!! My hair and clothes smelled like smoke just from walking down the street. You couldn’t get away from it. It is definitely a different culture there. I know they just put in non-smoking bylaws Jan. 1st banning it indoors – we’ll see how that works. LOL If I walked into a store and the clerk was smoking, I'd walk back out again.

 

 

 

There is so much to see there. Next time I want to make it to the Monastery of Montserrat.

 

 

As for worries about pickpockets – CC basically freaked me out before I even left:o, so I ordered Pacsafe bags. The purse I was using I kept under my jacket, and I had no problem. I looked like I was pregnant, but I didn’t lose anything! :p My camera was around my neck with a slash-proof strap. I guess they could have garrotted me if they had wanted too…:rolleyes:

 

End of Barcelona, and hope I can get to the rest soon….

Edited by dirtgirl
Link to comment
Share on other sites

You're making me smile. I too suffered from CC pickpocket freakout last October. DD got a huge kick out of my "safe" purse and my paranoia in Barcelona and at the Trevi Fountain.

 

Can't wait to hear more about your adventures. We all followed your "ups and downs" closely.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Carol: where did you go:confused:

I can't wait to hear your version....I had a very good friend onboard and she has shown me videos of damage, a water spout off the port bow that was VERY close to the ship and lots and lots of broken stuff. Her cabin was in a shambles, she still has a bruise on her side from being thrown out of bed. It was on deck 2 and she also had a video of the waves that washed over her porthole window, way over it!:eek:

Link to comment
Share on other sites

You're making me smile. I too suffered from CC pickpocket freakout last October. DD got a huge kick out of my "safe" purse and my paranoia in Barcelona and at the Trevi Fountain.

 

Can't wait to hear more about your adventures. We all followed your "ups and downs" closely.

 

Yeah, I sure looked sexy!!! :rolleyes:

 

Carol: where did you go:confused:

 

I can't wait to hear your version....I had a very good friend onboard and she has shown me videos of damage, a water spout off the port bow that was VERY close to the ship and lots and lots of broken stuff. Her cabin was in a shambles, she still has a bruise on her side from being thrown out of bed. It was on deck 2 and she also had a video of the waves that washed over her porthole window, way over it!:eek:

 

Hey there Becci! Sorry - I work 7 days a week, and it's been a busy day. I'll write more now.

 

Great start of your review, can't wait to hear the rest....afterall it was one of the best...maybe worst stories on CC! ;)

 

***

 

;) Many have termed it the 'Vacation from Hell', but I won't go that far. There was a lot of good mixed in with the bad!:cool:

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Dec 5th - Embarkation

 

We took a taxi to the pier; check-in was painless. There was no one in the Diamond line. We did have to give up our passports until the 11th, so they could stamp them with the Egyptian Visa. This was supplied free of charge.

 

This cruise was called 'Ancient Cultures and Civilizations', round-trip Barcelona, stopping in Palermo, Sicily, Athens, Rhodes, Greece, an overnight in Alexandria, and a stop in Malta. The cruise was 12 nights. It was a training cruise for me - on sea days, I was in class (4 out of 5 sea days - lots of sea days for a Med cruise).

 

Our cabin was an E3 - 7048 - not one I would have picked, but it was assigned. The balcony was rather small and pie-shaped, but it worked out ok. It was convenient to the aft stairs. We had a great cabin steward, and we were always laughing and joking around with him.

 

We had our unofficial Meet and Mingle in the Schooner Bar, and all of the CC group made it - though one couple didn't get their luggage until day 5!!! Some had horrific tales of being stuck in various cities around Europe due to the strike. It was a relief to be finally onboard.

 

We met up with the other TAs in my class before dinner for a cocktail event. We became a close-knit group over the course of the cruise.

 

We had second seating, and service was slow the first night. We had to play musical chairs the second night, and fate put Laura and I with Bonnie and George, the couple I got stranded with. We hit it off right away, and dinners were always filled with the oddest conversations (our District Sales Manager constantly looked shock, lol) and lots of laughs!:D

 

I did not go to any shows, sorry. I am so been there, done that. I prefer to hang out in the Schooner Bar at the bar, talking to the bartenders and to anyone who sits down, or I go to the nightclub and do the same. If you put me in the theatre and turn the lights off, I WILL fall asleep. I just can't help it! :p

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Dec 6th - Sea Day

 

I spent the day in class, went to the gym, and then it was formal night. Laura and I had lunch in the dining room, and had that fabulous salad bar. We whooped it up in the night club till the wee hours. ;)

 

Dec 7th - Palermo, Sicily

 

We had a ship excursion called 'Mysterious Palermo', which involved stops at the Capuchin Catacombs and Lo Sceri. The Catacombs were fascinating - thousands of dead people in their Sunday best hanging on the walls. Plus there is that eerie perfectly preserved 2 year old girl that died in 1920. No pictures were allowed, and we had to wear these 'whispers' in our ears to hear the guide. I couldn't hear half of what she was saying. The whole preservation process was explained as well. Not for the faint of heart!

 

Lo Sceri was where the Spanish Inquisition took place in Sicily. So, there were tales of torture and executions. This year they are supposed to open some of the cells. I would have loved to have seen them. This part of the tour was kind of disappointing - if we had seen some cells it would have been better.

 

Yes, I have a morbid fascination with such things, and this led to the ongoing joke that I like to see dead people. True enough!! :o

 

We jumped off the tour bus a bit early so we could explore a bit on our own. We found a very popular cafe, and went inside. I was blown away by the rows and rows of yummy looking food, most of which I had no idea what it was. A clerk rapidly guessed that I spoke English (though I didn't say a word), and starting explaining what everyone was. I had my first calzone and my first cannolli. I couldn't finish the cannolli, but I loved the calzone.

 

I can't remember what I did that night, but it was either the Schooner Bar or the Starquest! :p

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Good to see you are finally getting over your "fun". Do you have another cruise lined up yet Carol?

 

 

Next one that is definite is the Sapphire Princess in May. Something might pop up in the meantime, but I want to get better first. ;)

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Dec. 8th - Sea Day

 

In class in the morning, then we had a bridge tour after lunch. There was lots of security for that, for which I am grateful.

 

I then entered into one of those pool contests, and won Miss Sexy Arms. :o I did my one-armed push-ups, which were easy compared to what else I had to do. :rolleyes: We all had to dance seductively for each of the male judges. They were 5 of them, so a dance for each one. :o Give me one-armed push-ups any day over a public sexy dance to a stranger!! Yes, there are pictures, and no, I won't post.:p

 

Dec 9th - Athens

 

6 of us from CC decided to do the Acropolis on our own. We got two taxis from Piraeus, and split a guide there. She charged 100 euro. Divided by six that wasn't bad at all. I thought it was worth, it; others didn't. I wouldn't have wanted my first time there to be without a guide, as I love history, and I want to learn. We then went on our own to the Acropolis Museum, then we went to the Plaka. Laura and I split off from the group, as I wanted to walk to the Agora. We did that and went for lunch. We had Mousakka, which Laura absolutely hated!!! :D I had ouzo, and she hated that, too. LMAO :p

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Fri Dec 10 Rhodes, Greece

 

My favourite port!! What a beauty!! We booked a private tour with a CC couple with Rhode's Taxi out to the Acropolis of Lindos. We had several stops along the way at a lookout, where the Colossus of Rhodes was said to be, the Temple of Apollo (with Amphitheatre and Stadium), a church, and then at Lindos. What an amazing tour!! It worked out to 50 euro each, plus tip, and worth every penny. I thoroughly recommend this company and this tour. It started to pour rain on the way back - a foreshadowing of what was to come. The driver, Michael, even drove us around the walled city of Rhodes when we returned for no extra charge, as it was pouring so badly.

 

This was the beginning of the 'weather'...:rolleyes:

Link to comment
Share on other sites

So, this review has been a long time in coming. I just haven’t had the time to sit down and collect my thoughts!! Here goes.

 

I left Vancouver, BC on Dec. 2nd, connecting through London Hearthrow to Barcelona. My first flight was delayed due to weather in London, causing me to switch to a later flight to Barcelona. ….

 

 

Yours and others experience with the London bad weather caused parents and me to change our connection from a change of planes at LHR and then connecting also thru Cairo to a one connection via Frankfurt for our trip in two weeks.

 

Looking forward to checking out Brilliance....I do really like the Radiance Class of ship. I am sure I will have a good cruise on BOTS. Also excited to check out Dubai and Muscat in particular.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Yours and others experience with the London bad weather caused parents and me to change our connection from a change of planes at LHR and then connecting also thru Cairo to a one connection via Frankfurt for our trip in two weeks.

 

Looking forward to checking out Brilliance....I do really like the Radiance Class of ship. I am sure I will have a good cruise on BOTS. Also excited to check out Dubai and Muscat in particular.

 

 

Canada is in the midst of a spat with UAE, causing problems for cruise passengers going to Dubai. Glad you don't have to deal with that!

Link to comment
Share on other sites

 

 

 

There is so much to see there. Next time I want to make it to the Monastery of Montserrat.

 

 

As for worries about pickpockets – CC basically freaked me out before I even left:o, so I ordered Pacsafe bags. The purse I was using I kept under my jacket, and I had no problem. I looked like I was pregnant, but I didn’t lose anything! :p My camera was around my neck with a slash-proof strap. I guess they could have garrotted me if they had wanted too…:rolleyes:

 

End of Barcelona, and hope I can get to the rest soon….

 

Hope you do get a chance to go to Montserrat, it is beautiful.

4986626143_961105759a_z.jpg

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Sat Dec 11th

 

We rocked and rolled all day. Laura was green, and stuck to the cabin all day, including formal night. I don't get seasick, touch wood. I had classes, and went to the gym after class to find that the gym was closed. :eek: That's like telling me the sky is falling. :rolleyes: I then ran the stairs, up and down, from deck 2 to 12.:o I had brought an exercise band with me, so continued to work out in the cabin. I am rather fanatical...

 

The dining room was empty for formal night. Women were warned not to wear high heels. Great on formal night. :rolleyes:

 

Everyone was in bed early for Egypt day the following day - no nightlife whatsoever tonight!

 

The ship was rocking so much, our tv was swinging back and forth. We wedged a pillow beside it to stop it doing that - good thing we did!!!!

 

I had gotten some cookies to take with me on our Egypt tour the following day, considering it was a 3 hour drive to Cairo. Wish I had put them in a baggie when I got back to the room, instead of, "I'll do it in the morning".:rolleyes:

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Canada is in the midst of a spat with UAE, causing problems for cruise passengers going to Dubai. Glad you don't have to deal with that!

 

Dad mentioned that as well...one of their employees was facing some kind of visa for $1000...sounded high but I suspect business visas cost more.

 

Makes me think some of my friends with dual citizenship sometimes have it a bit easier....one has a Swiss passport in addition to the US one, that has to be a pretty good combo.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Dad mentioned that as well...one of their employees was facing some kind of visa for $1000...sounded high but I suspect business visas cost more.

 

Makes me think some of my friends with dual citizenship sometimes have it a bit easier....one has a Swiss passport in addition to the US one, that has to be a pretty good combo.

 

It is high, as it's only good for one entry. If you are on the Brilliance and it's going to Oman then you need two visas. $2,000 is ridiculous. It's causing Canadians to cancel this cruise. I did..................wouldn't even consider it now or in the future.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

It is high, as it's only good for one entry. If you are on the Brilliance and it's going to Oman then you need two visas. $2,000 is ridiculous. It's causing Canadians to cancel this cruise. I did..................wouldn't even consider it now or in the future.

 

 

It's difficult, expensive, and complicated for clients, so I imagine Dubai will be avoided!

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Ok here goes. Now, this whole thing was in another VERY long thread, which ended with weird stuff about tonnage and life jackets. :confused: So I won't dwell on this, but here it is in a nutshell:

 

We were trying to sleep before our big, and early, Egypt excursion. I had the alarm set for 5:30 am - and I SO hate morning!! :p Honestly, the ship was moving so much, and the room was creaking and so noisy, that I was just in a doze. Then, at 2:45 am, the ship listed to starboard (we were port). Everything on the vanity flew off onto the floor, so we awakened to breaking glass, etc. The lights in the cabin came on - I thought Laura had flicked some switch, but it was automatic emergency lighting. Being women, we both jumped out of bed to clean up the mess. Oops.

 

The ship then went to port. Laura had braced herself well in the hallway near the bathroom. I wasn't so lucky - I was in the sitting area, and when the ship moved, I moved. Laura said afterward that she kept thinking, "There went Carol, flying back and forth again". LOL So I'm flipping back and forth while the ship is moving back and forth. The beds were moving, and that was scary. That didn't look good to me; beds are heavy! At some point, the wooden coffee table smashed into my right side. I had a big bruise on my hip bone. I thought I was going to die for a few minutes, and I have a big-a** fear of drowning. I thought of my kids back home. It was a frightening experience. I've been in rough seas, but not like that.

 

After a few minutes, we stopped listing badly, and went back to the relatively normal rock and roll we had been experiencing. Laura and I then started the clean up. The ice bucket had met my cookies, so we had sodden, icky cookie bits all over the carpet. We had broken glass as well. Our cabinet in the bathroom had flown open, and everything was on the floor. Good thing the toilet seat was down...:p

 

Should have taken pics before the clean up, but didn't even think about that, just got to work. The Captain came on the PA about 10 minutes or so later (don't believe some reports of a half an hour - not true):

 

"And a very good morning ladies and gentlemen...":D That made us laugh! He then went on to explain what had happened - that they had slowed down, and then the stabilizers didn't work. We were told to stay in our cabins (hey, I'm in my nightie; not about to go exploring:rolleyes:), but some people did go out. I do not recall him saying they made a 'mistake' anywhere in his message as has been widely reported due to a posting made on CC by another poster. Nor did anyone else I spoke to recall that. I did meet that CC poster, and I really don't know where he got that from. He was brand new to CC.

 

The captain made several announcements over the next 45 minutes or so. All the cabin stewards were sent out to check on their passengers. Our sales manager phoned all his people to see if they were ok. About an hour later, things settled down, and I reset the alarm to later, as we weren't going to be in Egypt on time. Then it was a light doze again, due to what had happened, and the darn movement (it does not lull me; it keeps me awake). At 7:00 am, the Captain came on again. Wake up call, not that we were really sleeping. They were watching to see if we could even get into Alexandria at all.

 

 

My bum is numb from sitting in front of the computer all day!! :p TMI, I know, but that's me!

Edited by dirtgirl
Link to comment
Share on other sites

With interesst - and even more so- as I am going on board Brilliance in a few weeks, I follow your review. I can not imagine such an, well let´s call it adventures, experience. Oh I can imagine many passenger would walk out of their stateroms.

Thanks for shareing your experiences.

Greetings

Michael

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Dec 12th, con't.

 

Around 9:00 am, and with unbelievable effort considering the ship was a disaster, they put on breakfast for 2000 people in the dining room. Yes, it was a buffet, there were long line-ups, there were paper plates, they kept running out of things, but it was food. Considering that every table, chair, china, and piece of glassware had been tossed around just 6 hours before, it was amazing.

 

The crew and the staff were wonderful. They worked all day long, some on only 1.5 hours of sleep. They still kept smiling, but I could see the strain in their eyes.

 

But, not everyone was amazed at their efforts. Some were loudly complaining in the line up about what happened, whose fault it was, and how dare they had to line up for food. :rolleyes: Some arguments broke out. Now, I've cruised many times, and I know cruising is always an adventure. I'd never gone through something like this before, but I was trying to make the best of a not so perfect situation. Others needed someone to blame. I saw one woman with cuts all over her face from the list. Mostly people had bumps, scrapes, rug burns, bruises. One of our group was hit with his TV when it flew off. I was feeling achy and bruised myself. At that point I thought I was ok, but I wasn't.

 

Nothing was open this day, save for the dining room for breakfast, lunch, and dinner (buffet), dinner in the Windjammer (very limited buffet - I headed here when I saw the line-up for dinner), the Schooner Bar, the Centrum Bar, the Champagne Bar, and the coffee place. We were not allowed to the top decks, so no gym , spa, solarium, pool deck, Seaview cafe, shops, casino, etc. No shows were in the theatre as the seas were too rough. We were not allowed on our balconies, either. The coffee place was giving out free coffee and cookies for a while, but there was a stampede, so that didn't last - they ran out of cookies. I didn't eat from breakfast to dinner, as I wasn't about to brave the line-up for lunch. A cookie would have been nice!

 

There really wasn't anything to do except sit in a bar, soooooooooo:o..

The Schooner Bar it was. They were trivia games, beer was in paper cups (they lost a lot of glassware and booze), and you could pretty well just have wine, beer, or soda. Everybody had their tale to tell. I met some nice people, and we just chatted away the afternoon. Some went and played bingo. Decks 5 and 6 in the Centrum area and aft were really the only places to be, save for your cabin.

 

Dinner in the Windjammer was... interesting. They had lost a lot of food, and needed to take on provisions in Malta. Hot dogs seemed to be a mainstay, so yes, I had a hot dog for dinner. And it was good!! :p There were long line-ups, but hey, it was shorter than the dining room! The Windjammer had been destroyed as well - again, a huge amount of effort went into putting it back together.

 

The first thing to reopen was the casino. :rolleyes: Fancy that!

 

We were told that we were not going to Egypt at all. The port of Alexandria was closed due to the storm. It's just as well we didn't try to dock, as there was a huge sand storm there. We were told that our one day in Malta was now to be 2 days - Tuesday and Wednesday. Many workers were to be brought on to fix the ship inside, and the 'suits' from RCI were going to be coming onboard.

 

Many had lost their TVs during the list, and they remained without TVs for the rest of the cruise. We saw them replacing them as we left the ship in Barcelona. So, if the seas are rough, brace your TV set!! Some cabins were also without power - their lights didn't work, but their electrical socket did. Weird.

 

There was much disappointment with not making Egypt. We were all sent a letter offering $200 per cabin obc (suites got $400). You could feel some anger brewing with some people. I overheard people writing a letter of complaint to someone in the internet cafe, about how hard done by they were. One woman said she was 'traumatized' by having to line up for food. :rolleyes: I'll never forget that one!! A couple behind me were in the process of contacting Good Morning America, and they called her while I was sitting there, and she gave her interview over the phone - at 1:00 am.

 

So, yes, lots of grumblings and contact with news organizations were going on at this point. I was never angry about any of it, and was perturbed at what I was seeing. I was most upset that the gym was closed. :p

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Please sign in to comment

You will be able to leave a comment after signing in



Sign In Now
 Share

  • Forum Jump
    • Categories
      • Welcome to Cruise Critic
      • New Cruisers
      • Cruise Lines “A – O”
      • Cruise Lines “P – Z”
      • River Cruising
      • ROLL CALLS
      • Digital Photography & Cruise Technology
      • Special Interest Cruising
      • Cruise Discussion Topics
      • UK Cruising
      • Australia & New Zealand Cruisers
      • Canadian Cruisers
      • North American Homeports
      • Ports of Call
      • Cruise Conversations
×
×
  • Create New...